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The accumulation of fallout radionuclides (FRNs) from nuclear weapons testing and nuclear accidents has been evaluated for over half a century in natural environments; however, until recently their distribution and abundance within glaciers have been poorly understood. Following a series of individual studies of FRNs, specifically 137Cs, 241Am and 210Pb, deposited on the surface of glaciers, we now understand that cryoconite, a material commonly found in the supraglacial environment, is a highly efficient accumulator of FRNs, both artificial and natural. However, the variability of FRN activity concentrations in cryoconite across the global cryosphere has never been assessed. This study thus aims to both synthesize current knowledge on FRNs in cryoconite and assess the controls on variability of activity concentrations. We present a global database of new and previously published data based on gamma spectrometry of cryoconite and proglacial sediments, and assess the extent to which a suite of environmental and physical factors can explain spatial variability in FRN activity concentrations in cryoconite. We show that FRNs are not only found in cryoconite on glaciers within close proximity to specific sources of radioactivity, but across the global cryosphere, and at activity concentrations up to three orders of magnitude higher than those found in soils and sediments in the surrounding environment. We also show that the organic content of cryoconite exerts a strong control on accumulation of FRNs, and that activity concentrations in cryoconite are some of the highest ever described in environmental matrices outside of nuclear exclusion zones, occasionally in excess of 10,000 Bq kg−1. These findings highlight a need for significant improvements in the understanding of the fate of legacy contaminants within glaciated catchments. Future interdisciplinary research is required on the mechanisms governing their accumulation, storage, and mobility, and their potential to cr

The goal of this thesis is to develop an improved understanding of sedimentary processes along the Nelson River system in the subarctic region of Canada. Sediment sources and transport dynamics in Lake Winnipeg, the Upper Nelson River (UNR) – between Lake Winnipeg and Split Lake – as well as the Burntwood River (BR) – the major tributary of the Nelson River in the subarctic region – were investigated. The properties of Lake Winnipeg’s bottom sediment and the lake’s total sediment budget were used to provide a better understanding of: a) the sedimentation dynamics in Lake Winnipeg; and b) its role in sediment transport in the Nelson River system. The sediment source fingerprinting technique and long-term record of sediment load data on the BR and the UNR were used for separating the importance of climate change from human-induced environmental changes on these two regulated rivers. Moreover, the influence of Split Lake on the downstream delivery of sediment to the Lower Nelson River and Hudson Bay was investigated by developing the sediment budget for this riverine lake. In addition, the collection of a representative sample of ambient suspended sediment using a well-established time-integrated sampler and two adapted discrete samplers was investigated. The performance of these samplers was examined in a controlled laboratory and under field conditions. Assessing these samplers was conducted to determine the most suitable device to collect representative bulk samples from the Nelson River system. The results show that the sediment load derived from the prairies area is sequestered in Lake Winnipeg, along with nutrients and contaminants bound to them. Another key finding was that sediment derived from bluff erosion on the northern shore of the lake is the major source for sediment being exported in the lake’s outflow. This thesis also found that the UNR is characterized by increases in sediment loading as a result of climate change. However, in the BR, cross-watershed